- Thread starter Dan
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I've had a couple of female apprentices in years gone by, they were both outstanding. What they lacked in brute strength they more than made up for in dedication, willingness to put in a days work and ability to learn. Not sure why there's so few tradeswomen but it's a damn shame.
L
LankyWill
It would be nice to have more women sparks i agree. Ive only ever seen one who could pull her own wait and just get on with it(see was a great teacher also). The other needs an apprentice at all times to lift heavy stuff for her, or because she feels intimidated at a job site. Its double standards and the whole feminist argument, if i asked for a lad to help me lift a cu and mark it or test id be laughed at. I may sound neanderthal but i think its just not suited to most women and they cant hack the environment.
G
GMES
But then who would do all the cooking , washing & ironing Louise!!!
I
Integrity
I haven't come a cross any (female sparkys) as yet but would have no issues employing one. There defiantly needs to be more female trades people but not sure what you can do about fighting off the belief and in some cases the reality of sexism in the industry which is stopping women from training. I have had 2 women come out for some experiance prior, one was pretty good but then made a mistake ( screw through water pipe) and her confidence never came back so she left. The other was mid 40's and had issues with the physical side, chasing etc. I have also had lads that have benn far worse.
I have only ever met 4 female electricians that I can remember. Hardly any round these parts. I know of one that is employed and frequents the same wholesalers as me.
I know of one other that is self employed round here. She seems to have a habit of recommending a mate of mine for jobs that she "doesn't have time for". She tells customers my mate is a good trusted guy that she knows well and has no hesitation in passing the job on to. He has never met her.
All the jobs he has been to the customer has said she spent a couple of hours scratching her head and eroding the customer's confidence then passed the job on. They have all been fault finding jobs that my mate got sorted, or at least diagnosed within 30 minutes.
I know of one other that is self employed round here. She seems to have a habit of recommending a mate of mine for jobs that she "doesn't have time for". She tells customers my mate is a good trusted guy that she knows well and has no hesitation in passing the job on to. He has never met her.
All the jobs he has been to the customer has said she spent a couple of hours scratching her head and eroding the customer's confidence then passed the job on. They have all been fault finding jobs that my mate got sorted, or at least diagnosed within 30 minutes.
When my daughter was about 15, she showed a lot of interest in the panels I was building in my workshop. She asked the right questions about the programming and was really interested in the HMI's. (operator screens if you like)
She actually taught me how to lay the screens out in a logical and aesthetically pleasing way (something us blokes are usually not to good at) And gradually I taught her how to program PLC's but her natural bent was for the screens.
Soon, I was giving her the I/O lists and specs and she programmed them for jobs I was doing.
She left school and tried various jobs and one day asked if she could work for me.
I had to think long and hard about introducing her to the workplaces I went to but agreed on a trial.
(silly naive daddy didn't want his precious little girl hearing all the bad language and sexist remarks)
I had no need to worry - she was already used to dealing with overtures from leching idiots.
I am her father but I say this from an entirely neutral point; she is a very attractive girl and while working, the saying 'fly's around ----' about covers what was happening every day.
This had unexpected bonus's though. A lot of engineering managers and bosses wanted me to do jobs that I would normally have to quote for and compete with others for were now allowing me to do the jobs on day-work rates. Even if it was a 'one-man' job they would ask if she was coming, saying things like 'it will be a good learning experience for her'
She had no problem with any - shall we say mans-work, there was always an army of volunteers ready to assist.
Sadly, she left to get married and have children (sadly at losing her skills - but good for the grand bairns)
She has now retrained and delivers babies daily as a midwife.
She actually taught me how to lay the screens out in a logical and aesthetically pleasing way (something us blokes are usually not to good at) And gradually I taught her how to program PLC's but her natural bent was for the screens.
Soon, I was giving her the I/O lists and specs and she programmed them for jobs I was doing.
She left school and tried various jobs and one day asked if she could work for me.
I had to think long and hard about introducing her to the workplaces I went to but agreed on a trial.
(silly naive daddy didn't want his precious little girl hearing all the bad language and sexist remarks)
I had no need to worry - she was already used to dealing with overtures from leching idiots.
I am her father but I say this from an entirely neutral point; she is a very attractive girl and while working, the saying 'fly's around ----' about covers what was happening every day.
This had unexpected bonus's though. A lot of engineering managers and bosses wanted me to do jobs that I would normally have to quote for and compete with others for were now allowing me to do the jobs on day-work rates. Even if it was a 'one-man' job they would ask if she was coming, saying things like 'it will be a good learning experience for her'
She had no problem with any - shall we say mans-work, there was always an army of volunteers ready to assist.
Sadly, she left to get married and have children (sadly at losing her skills - but good for the grand bairns)
She has now retrained and delivers babies daily as a midwife.
K
katysparks
Part of that is that some sites are filled with arseholes, not that 'most women can't hack it'. Like you get a medal for ignoring and joining in aggressive behavior.
Loads of blokes can't or won't hack it either, dunno if it's about gender. Some sites have been well funny and great to work on, loads of banter. Some sites I've worked on have been aggressive, homophobic, racist and sexist, who wants to work in that.
K
katysparks
How did you manage you make your giant man hands press all the little keys to type this? Typing's a woman's work. you're just not suited to it.
Don't we all.... I'm Called Loretta at the weekends...
i have nothing against women in the trade, per se, but from my personal experience, i've never seen one that can cope with it. i'm sure there's female sparks out there that can. it's just that the only ones i've met are too far up their own feminist arses. ( no disrespect to any competent female sparks/engineers/train drivers/lineswomen/etc.).
Irrespective of sex, fault finding requires an ability to 'see' the installation or system in your mind and work out what's happened from the clues available using a logical sequence of tests. In other words, the knack:
K
katysparks
oh this thread has been raging me up all day. what are you even talking about?
thought my post was pretty straightforward.
i blame the 1st world war. because so many men went off to fight ( and die) in the trenches, women worked in factories, making munitions etc, then the war ended and due to women like emily pankhurst, these women refused to get back into the kitchens, thus creating mass unemployment for the returning men, leading to the general strike of 1926, depression of the 30's, jarrow march, and all ills that have befallen men ever since. this post is said more in jest than anything else, and i have my garlic, cross, and silver bullets to defend myself from the feminist fall-out. 
Y
yogimull
I am a female electrician, well, an apprentice. And in the U.S. so maybe my reply is even less helpful. Despite those caveats, I've been working in the trade for three years and earned an Associate's Degree (2yrs) in Electrical Technology.
Yes, there are some problems working in a predominantly male field. Yes I have children and finding childcare for them is extremely difficult, especially when I need to be on a job by 0600. But that's life, single Dad's struggle too. And no, I'm not as strong as a 6'+ male who weighs 200+lbs, but neither are a lot of the scrawny male electricians out there.
I love working in the electrical trade. It's interesting, and challenging, and I don't have to be in an office. We recently moved unfortunately and I'm currently having some trouble with old fashioned/narrow minded hiring managers, (ie-"Well I ain't but never seen a girl electrician!") it won't deter me. My last bosses were both excellent Journeymen and perfect to work for, because they were mature and professional. They never even asked what I was doing trying to become an electrician and they respected my work. I never took it personally when they yelled at me for *@$#ing up because if I did wrong, I deserved to called out and they were correcting me because I was new and needed to fix the mistake, not because I am a woman.
As for the guys on construction sites who treated me horribly, that's their problem, not mine. And none of them were electricians so it didn't really affect the job overall. I never felt too threatened or unsafe, and if they had a problem with me working there, they'd just say it behind my back (and usually in Spanish). I'm a Veteran though too, spent my twenties upset/mad/confused about being a female in a male environment. I guess now I'm just burned out on caring. Too old maybe to worry about proving my worth or paving the way for women's rights. I don't want to be or act like a man, I'm proud that I'm a competent feminine tradesmen. And it's not my fault men tend to have cooler hobbies and jobs.
Let's just work. Forget about the rest.
There's Loads of Female Sparkies who work onsite's in Australia. My Old crew had 7 blokes and 4 Chicks. All treated with the same respect.. The Trade is different here though. An Electrician is seen as a decent career. Something that seemed the polar opposite when I worked in London.
K
katysparks
A 12hr plane journey has never sounded so appealing
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